7 minute read
5 Questions about Feral Pigs
Q&A
5 Questions About Feral Pigs
A Q&A with MIKAYLA KILLAM
Feral pigs have no boundaries. If they have adequate food and water, feral pigs can populate an area whether it's rural, suburban or urban— and leave damage in their wake. As omnivores that root in search of food, they destroy crops, ruin irrigation systems and dig up rangelands and landscaping. They also contaminate surface water and crops with E. coli, carry disease and have been known to prey on ground nesting birds and small mammals.
While we think of feral pigs as a Texas problem, they are wreaking havoc around the globe. Just in the United States, at least 30 states, especially those in the southeast along with Texas and California, have serious issues.
I sat down with Mikayla Killam, who is the business and conservation initiative manager for Pig Brig Trap Systems as well as the communication coordinator for the National Wild Pig Task Force, to discuss feral pigs, their natural history and management tools for landowners.
1. Feral pigs are often described as invasive species. What is an invasive species and why does their presence on the landscape matter?
MK: When I’m talking about invasive species, I’m talking about a non-native organism that’s doing some kind of harm. Invasive species can be plants, animals, insects, reptiles and aquatic species. Invasive species have become part of the conservation conversation because humans move around the globe so much. It is easier than it probably should be to move organisms from one place to another. Now, just because something is non-native doesn’t mean that it’s going to be successful in whatever new habitat it’s been introduced into. For instance, if I planted orange trees in Alaska, they’re not going to be successful enough to displace native species because the orange trees won’t be able to tolerate the cold.
But in the case of feral pigs, when they were introduced into Texas and other areas with similar climates, their habitat needs were met. There are not a lot of predators to keep them in check and they reproduce quickly, so they have the potential to grow their population. Because of the way they forage and feed, they cause a lot of damage.
2. Are feral pigs, feral hogs, wild pigs, wild hogs and Russian boars all the same?
MK: Yes, and they’re also the same as razorbacks, “river rooters,” which is my favorite name that I’ve heard them called. In the scientific community, we refer to them as wild pigs, because around the world, there are places where they are native (and still causing damage) but not feral. Taxonomically they are identified as Sus crofa . Regardless of what people call them, they are the same species that originated in Eurasia.
3. How did feral pigs spread to the Americas?
MK: The first documented instance of pigs being brought to the Americas occurred in 1493 as part of Christopher Columbus’ second voyage. Those pigs were released in the Caribbean Islands. And Spanish and other European explorers kept bringing them over on each successive voyage. Those early pigs were only moderately domesticated and still free ranging in Europe, so they were very resilient, and they adapted to the new environment quickly. Pigs were a good, reliable food source, which was important for explorers who were facing the unknown.
The pigs established easily. In just a hundred years there was a substantial enough population of feral pigs in the Caribbean that ships could come across the Atlantic and stock up on pigs before continuing to the mainland.
Early exploration was a military operation and like all armies, they traveled on their stomachs. They brought herds of pigs with them as they explored. The pigs were either intentionally left behind as a potential food source or just escaped because they were semi-wild.
One explorer traveled from Florida to Texas and seeded a wild pig population across the Gulf Coast. Because the habitat conditions were right, it didn’t take them long to establish and grow.
Feral pigs are a triple threat—they are adaptable and intelligent with a high reproductive capacity.
4. What makes feral pigs so difficult to manage?
MK: Feral pigs are a triple threat—they are adaptable and intelligent with a high reproductive capacity.
The only things that feral pigs need to thrive is food and water. They are opportunistic omnivores, so they eat many different things including insects, plant roots, small animals, crops and domestic animal feed. Water can come from rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds and even irrigation systems or cattle troughs. When water is present in a riparian corridor, they can establish in desert environments. If they have food and water, which places like golf courses provide, they can establish in suburban or urban areas.
Remember, when feral pigs were originally introduced to the landscape, they were semidomesticated. When humans domesticate any animals, whether for meat, eggs or milk, we have goals in mind. We worked to make them grow quickly, reproduce efficiently and often, and mature at an early age.
Feral pig females can start breeding when they are four to six months old. Gestation is only 115 days, which means a healthy, well-fed sow can have several litters a year. And they average four to six piglets per litter. At that rate, it doesn’t take long for a population to explode.
As if that wasn’t enough, feral pigs are intelligent and social. They not only learn behaviors but teach it to succeeding generations. For instance, if hunters take several pigs from a sounder during a day hunt, the remainder of the group is likely to become nocturnal.
The same goes for traps. Every pig from a sounder that isn’t trapped when others in its group are, escapes and has learned to be trap wary, which means you must get them all every time. . .or they just get harder to trap.
5. What tools are available to landowners to help manage the populations on their land?
MK: Landowners can, and should, use a variety of tools to manage feral pigs. Common options include different trap types, hunting with or without dogs, and helicopter gunning where the terrain and budget allow. In some places, toxicants and contraceptives for boars are allowed, but regulations vary greatly from one place to the next.
Bonus question. What sets Pig Brig Trap Systems apart from some of the other trapping systems available?
MK: Interestingly, our trap system was developed by a wildlife manager who was tasked with removing feral pigs from an island in Guam. His group’s task was complicated by the presence of unexploded ordinance, which meant that the team couldn’t risk shooting pigs from the air or driving stakes into the ground, so they improvised a trap using nets strung on the trees. It was so effective that they decided to patent and sell the trap so that others could use this new tool.
Our system is the only net-based system for feral pigs. Because we use netting instead of metal panels like most trap systems, the Pig Brig trap is very portable. Weighing in at 60 lbs., our system can be packed into places that aren’t accessible because of terrain or prohibitions on vehicles and set up by one person.
Our traps don’t require a cell signal or someone watching a remote camera to trigger the trap, so it can be used anywhere at any time.
When our trap system is set up, the pigs come into feed under the net. But when they try to go out, they’re standing on the skirt, so it works like a funnel. As social animals, they tend to follow one another into the feed, meaning that eventually the entire sounder or herd comes inside, and you get them all. It prevents escapees that are trap smart.
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